Rebellious Hearts
by hoppip
Summary: Team Aqua and Team Magma, once saviors, led the world into chaos. 2 teams of teenagers who were sworn enemies were fated to meet, in a plan to take over Team Rocket. Fate also drawn them closer together as they realized what was truly important.
1. Chapter 1

This is a new fic I'm working on with FrostyShadows. Just to tell you, this is a mutlishipping fic. Enjoy.

* * *

**I**

**Just the Beginning**

_Rebellious Hearts_

By Hoppip & FrostyShadows

* * *

_It was a starry night. When people die, they become a star. The brighter ones are the ones who are heroes. The day that just passed was the start of a new legacy. People sacrificed themselves for the peace and safety of the world. _

_War. That despicable word. Team Rocket. Team Galactic. Power. Pokemon. Deaths. Torture. Destruction. I can name many more. Perhaps I should be more descriptive. _

_It all started with the power of the universe, locked inside an old, wooden box, which was the target. With that box, one team or another can rule the universe. It has the power to control any pokemon, like mind slaves. It was dirty, covered in dust. For generations, people were trying to get their greasy little hands on that box, but no one succeeded. That is because the power was guarded by the legendaries. They were the rarest pokemon, the guardians of their own kind. They did not want to see pokemon suffering. With the box locked away somewhere in Rayquaza's chamber, no one could get in. No one would get in. That fearsome sky dragon did his job very well, protected the box for hundreds and hundreds of years, until Team Rocket and Team Galactic came. They tracked down Rayquaza's domain, tried to blow it up. Even though the Sky Staircase was strong, it wouldn't hold constant bombings from two terrorist teams, who were also bombing each, biting each others' heads off._

_That was when the legendaries had enough. With the power of Mew and Arceus, along with support from all the other legendaries, the pokemon split the power into two, thus making them into very precious stones, a ruby and a sapphire. That was when Rayquaza abandoned his domain, knowing that once the teams could not find what they were looking for, they would leave so Rayquaza can rebuild what was once a haven for all kinds of pokemon._

_As Rayquaza thought, the two teams finally broke in but left empty handed, not even with a poor little pokemon to experiment on. The legendaries were relieved, sworn to never let the stones be in the wrong hands. By combining their powers, they sealed the stones away, where no one could find, not even them. They were to be found when a pair of the purest hearts needed them, to do good deed. It was already decided who that will be, it was the beginning of a new prophecy. The prophets were not born at that time yet, but they will be. They won't know who they are supposed to be. It was up to them to find out. They will meet by fate. What might happen to the world is in their hands. And they won't know until a long long time…_

_Meanwhile as the pokemon sealed away the powers, Team Rocket and Team Galactic were furious. They were determined to dictate the world. Both teams were rivals, right from the start. They both decided to conquer by force, and war. This takes us back to the beginning. After days of impatient planning, both teams acted nice. Traveling around the world, trying to make campaigns. But no one wanted a king. They wanted to be free, even if they were bribed with luxuries. The teams were furious. They knew they were stronger. They knew that they tried to be nice for the citizens' sakes. But all that backfired. They finally decided to fight their way to the throne. _

_Team Rocket destroyed the houses, where people lived, where people made their livings, where people went for leisure. On bomb after another. One gunshot after another. Innocent people were killed. It was pure destruction._

_On the other hand, Team Galactic noticed what Team Rocket was doing. They thought about playing nice. Pretending to protect the people from the terrorism, but they knew it was useless. Why do the people these days have to be so smart? So they stared to begin their own destructions too. Burning down the forests, flooding the deserts, drying lakes and rivers. They did everything to destroy the natural habitats for pokemon and sightseeing. Now, there weren't any live pokemon in sight, or any sights to see. It was horrible. Not long after, the two teams were blasting each others' heads off._

_While the pokemon world was falling apart, there were two human best friends in the depths of Hoenn. They hated what was happening to their home. They wanted to put a stop to this. Within a few weeks, they started their planning for all that was happening. They wanted peace for the humans and pokemon. They started an underground campaign, to stop the war. They started to gather people who were willing to join their force. No surprise, many brave people were also sick of TR and TG's doings. Some of the warriors they gathered were victims. Either they watched ones they loved die, or they watched as others suffered from their losses. Old people, young people, men and women all joined the cause. Everyone was determined to regain the freedom that was rightfully theirs. _

_After the two gathered an army of strong fighters, pokemon, and their supporters, they had already determined the headquarters of the two villain groups. These two were young, they wanted a name for their organization. Out of the blue, they one named his group in battle of Team Rocket Team Ruby. The other, who was going against Team Galactic Team Aqua. There was a significance meaning of the team names. One was a proud fire-ground type trainer and the other was a faithful water master. They were the perfect team, for tag battles and such. They held an undying love that was under their façade of teasing. They never admitted it, until it was too late. _

_After weeks of planning, their armies charged into the headquarters as the world was on its verge of collapsing. They fought. Every human and pokemon fought. Whether it was the enemies or the pain that struck them. Both good and bad people were killed. It was the time in life where everything was stained with blood and tears. No gory details need to be mentioned. War is something historical, but not a very nice thing to explain. _

_Months passed. The world was a rampaging mess. But all was done as the good won against the evil. Both Team Rocket and Team Galactic retreat into the shadows of Kanto and Sinnoh respectfully. Team Rocket were planning their revenge, but they won't have enough resources for a comeback in a long time. Team Aqua and Team Magma wouldn't have done it without their faith and determination. The legendaries helped them. Their hearts told them the right things to do. They fought for, and won, a time of blissful peace and prosperity. _

_With a sigh of relief coming from all over the world, it was over. Soon, everyone was replanting trees, rebuilding houses, planting new seeds. They were starting a new life. They wanted protection, and chose Team Magma and Team Aqua to advise them. Not as dictators, but as leaders that will help them through life. Peace remained and they lived a happy life…_

Delia Ketchum closed the history book. She glanced at the young boy beside her on couch, expecting him to fall asleep after listening to something so…well, not for 6-year old boys who is usually distracted really easily. But to her surprise, her son was looking at her with those shining chocolate orbs. After her husband was killed, she had never dared to open the history book again. It was too painful. He had died because of it. He had written the book, but was murdered for it.

"Mommy, if they lived happily ever after, why are they still fighting right now?" Little Ash Ketchum asked his mother, the gleam still in his eyes.

"Don't you worry about that sweetie. It's getting late now, it's time for bed." Delia said softly. Ash immediately jumped off the couch and ran upstairs, brushed his teeth, and jumped into his bed. Delia smiled at his son's innocence. There was so much in this word that he wasn't aware of. And she wished that he would never learn those things,

"Ashy, did you change your underwear?"

"Mommm. Of course I did." Ash grinned cheekily. It was probably the first time that he changed his underwear voluntarily. Usually Delia had to scold him into it. Delia smiled again and tenderly kissed her son on the forehead and turned off the light.

"Goodnight Ash."

"Goodnight mom. I finally joined Team Magma."

_Click_

Delia closed the door and walked to her room She opened the book again to where she left off. She read it as she wept…

_A few years passed. Everything was going well. Both leaders got married to other people even though they still loved each other. They had children of course. It was hard to love someone who then bears their children while loving someone else even more. The kept their distance from each other for years, but it wasn't working out so well for them. They needed each other. But they are married._

_One day, they met. It wasn't long until they were all over each other. It was an affair. They didn't want it to happen, but it did. Their wife/husband knew about it. There were pictures to prove it. They were mad, furious, and green with envy. They got together, and decided to kill the leaders, not thinking about the consequences. What was done had to be done, right?_

_Wrong. After their hands were bloodstained, they realized what they did was not the right thing to do. It was a time of bittersweet. They had children who were old enough to lead. They couldn't face them anymore because they killed their parent. They were meant to be dead. _

_Once the children heard about their parents' deaths, many things happened. One included the friendship between Team Magma and Team Aqua. There was only hatred left among the two team. Then, dictation started to take over. Citizens were forced to join either one or the other team, to work for them. They had heard of the stones of the universe. And they were to find them. It wasn't long until the citizens on one team started hating the other team. However, they didn't want war, because the painful memories of Team Galactic and Team Rocket were still too fresh. It was an uneasy neutrality, and lasted for centuries._

_

* * *

_

FOUR YEARS LATER…

"Yes! I finally got in Team Aqua!"

"Psh Misty, what's so good about Team Aqua? They're evil."

"Shuddup Gary. Just because you're my best friend, it doesn't mean that you can insult Team Aqua." Misty Waterflower glared at Gary Oak as she splashed water on him. Then she her hands to both sides of her cheeks, sweetly said "It has always been my dream…"

Gary snorted at her sudden change of mood, which only gave him a well earned punch in the face.

"Hey! What did you do that for? Wait, don't answer that, I already got punched by you 49 times today…" Gary said as he covered his bruise with his left hand, pouting.

"Be a man Oak!" She laughed.

"Well it's not my fault. This is the last time I'll be seeing you in I don't know how many years! I mean, for the past 6 years, I've been visiting you pretty much every week from Pallet, but once you join Team Aqua, I won't be able to see you again." Gary said sadly as he pulled himself out of the Cerulean Gym pool.

"Then why don't you join Team Aqua with me. There will be many water Pokemon?" Misty asked but clasped her hands over her mouth.

Gary was mad. "JOIN TEAM AQUA? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I would never join Team Aqua. Don't you remember how my parents were killed? If it weren't for Team Aqua and Team Magma always fighting each other, they wouldn't have been killed in the shootout! THEY WERE INNOCENT BYSTANDERS!" He was shaking badly, trying to hide his tears from his best friend. But there was just too much pain. He loved his parents. He tried to forget the tragedy. But he couldn't. But then he felt a pair of soft, wet arms around his bare body. He looked behind him and saw Misty hugging him. He calmed down and his cheeks turned beet red.

"Stop it. I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have said that. I'm making your life painful aren't I? But Gary, I can't go without you agreeing to it. You're my best friend." Misty said softly, still embracing Gary.

"Jeez Misty, I'll agree. But promise me you won't hook up with any guys there."

Gary could feel Misty smiling on his shoulder.

"Thanks Gary. But you should control your flirting while I'm gone. I mean, who knows what would happen while I'm gone?" She laughed bitterly.

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

With that, Misty left her old life behind to join Team Aqua, to become the best, not knowing that a new chapter of her life was just beginning. But she also didn't know that her fate was intertwined with a boy meant to be her enemy but ended up to be something different…

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

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There it is. The ratings might go up for this fic because we're planning some violence and other stuff in here. Just to tell you this is a multi-shipping fic. Anyways, please leave a review and give some suggestions.

~Hoppip & FrostyShadows


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the long wait, enjoy :)

* * *

**II**

**AQUA & MAGMA**

_Rebellious Hearts_

By Hoppip & FrostyShadows

* * *

You see, our heroes aren't exactly what you call heroes. From young ages, they were trained to kill. They were taught to be manipulative and learned all aspects of "murder". The ones they murdered included the innocent. Team Aqua and Team Magma fed things into their heads, little by little. They were trained to do the dirty work but not knowing the consequences. If you were told that "who who who" killed your parents, grandparents, or siblings, and you were able to kill, you would kill the accused. As young children, you don't think of consequences, all you would want is revenge. So the thought is kept in your head, your enemies would always be your enemies.

Despite the killing and hate, our heroes lived ordinary teenage lives, well kind of. There was eating, sleeping, video games, computer, karaoke, hormones, etc. Living in their respective headquarters, they lived contently. Occasionally getting some high level missions, but they still had plenty time to tend to their Pokemon and hang out with each other. This is the story of your typical Pokemon characters, but with a different twist…

* * *

"Hey Misty! Get up already! I want you to help me pick out an outfit for today. I hear that we're getting a new mission." A blunette chirped cheerfully, despite the time. She was practically jumping up and down in her baby blue silk nightgown.

"Hmmm." The redhead in the bed tossed and turned a few times before burying her head in her pillow. It wasn't the best sleeping position, with the blanket in between her legs but like every morning, it was pretty much impossible to get her up from the bed. The unfortunate Dawn, who desperately needed her friend's opinion on her attire was used to it. It would usually take an hour or so to get Misty out of bed. No one in the elite team had the guts to do something physical to wake her up. Even Drew, the arrogant one attempted by tickling her and got kicked miles away. But since the new guy, Paul, joined the team, things had been a lot easier. Every morning, he would have a cup of cold water waiting for her. He wasn't scared of her for a change. Because he doesn't whimper like the rest of them, Misty found no fun in beating him up.

"Oh Paul!" Dawn called in a singsong voice. Upon hearing this, Misty's eyes shot open, revealing a pair of hazy cerulean blue eyes. Sitting up straight in her bed, her eyes caught Dawn's sapphire blue pair, staring into them menacingly. Dawn couldn't help but twitch. Just then, Paul entered the room with a dark blue mug, and already changed into his Team Aqua uniform. Because they were the elite team, their uniform was more elaborate. He was wearing his usual uniform, which consisted of a stripped t-shirt, an expensive looking blue jacket embroided with silver thread, and a pair of black pants with skulls on the side. He had a bored expression on his face.

"Good morning sleepyhead. Looks like you don't need me today." He turned his head to the other girl standing beside him and smirked. "Maybe Troublesome could use a good soak." With that, he dumped the ice-cold water on Dawn and left the room with one hand in his uniform pocket. Dawn's bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the entire dorm. After the screech stopped ringing, the girls heard loud thump next door. Before long, their other teammate, Drew stomped into the room. He snarled and turned his head for the both of them to see. In return, the two girls gasped simultaneously before Misty broke into hysterical laughter.

Drew was furious, he turned pointed to his head where a huge chunk of his used-to-be beautiful green hair was. "You see this? Roserade was fixing my hair and s_omebody_ ruined it! I swear to God, I'm going to fucking the kill the one who made that horrible sound!" Misty had stopped laughing at that time. He stared at him like the way she had stared at Dawn, which shot shivers down Drew's spine. He immediately turned to Dawn and started yelling at her.

"It was you wasn't it? How are you going to pay for my beautiful hair?" Once again, he flipped his hair, but it had lost his magic.

Dawn held up her hands, "Why do you assume that it was me?" Misty and Drew stared. "Ok, it was me. I'm sorry okay? How about I'll have Piplup fix it." With that, she ran out of the room and came back with a standard Pokeball in her hand. She fiddled around with two seal cases as Drew stared at her impatiently.

"Get on with it already!"

"Okay okay! Geez." Then she smoothly clipped on one of the seal cases and threw the pokeball up in the air. "Piplup! Spotlight!" Just then, a beam of red light shot out as the ball opened and a blue penguin like creature followed, surrounded by swarms on pink bubbles.

"Pip pip lup!" It chirped happily.

"Oh great, the arrogant chicken is here." Misty said. As Piplup heard this, its eyes narrowed on the redhead who was still sitting restlessly on her bed. The two never got along despite how much Misty loved water type Pokemon. Dawn panicked because from what was happening, it looked like there was going to be a brawl between the two.

"Uh Piplup, I'm going to need you to help me fix Drew's hair." With that, she scooped they little penguin up and walked out of the door. Drew followed and left the room with another flick of his ivory green hair. Misty sighed. Piplup was definitely not her best friend. Still with a frown on her tired face, Misty began to change into her uniform. Today, she had to wear something more special. Every time they were assigned a new mission, they had to somehow dress up for it. Well, they didn't HAVE to, but Dawn just wanted them to look "appropriate" for the occasion, and pretty much everything else.

Misty walked over to her closet and rummaged through the big chunks of clothes piled up on the floor. She sighed as she thought about dorm cleanup day. To her surprise, there was a pile of neatly folded clothes on top of her chair. She sighed again, knowing that it's probably Dawn who put it there. She walked over and picked it up. Not caring about what it was, she striped off her blue tank top and gray sweatpants and pulled on the new outfit. It was similar to the usually Aqua uniform she wore, but instead there was a short navy blue vest hanging on top of her short sleeved, striped shirt, her usual long blue pants were replaced with jet black shorts that had the same skull patterns on the side. She sighed and put on a pair of blue converse and her tied her lucky skull bandana onto her head. With that, she left her room.

* * *

"Drew! Stop moving for goodness sake!"

"Stop moving? I've got a stupid bird bubblebeaming my head! It fucking hurts ya know?"

"Pip lup lup lup"

"Stop swearing!"

"Why the fuck should I?"

"Because we're trying to fix your grassy messed up head!"

"And, you're failing, miserably. You're the one who said 'no need ta worry', BUT I'M WORRYING!"

"Oh now you're questioning my trustworthyness?"

"That isn't even a fucking word!"

"Piplup, whirpool."

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing?"

"Pip lup lup lup!"

"Fuck you."

* * *

Just finishing her extravagant breakfast, Misty turned her head to two of her teammates. It didn't take long before she began to laugh.

"Oh wow! Drew! You're soaked! And you're wearing that old fishing hat you wore 8 years ago! Ahhh good times good times." She yelled from where she was sitting.

"Shuddup runt."

"Go die grasshead. I mean it." She retorted back. Dawn slapped her forehead and sighed. It didn't seem like a good day for her.

"Hey, where's Paul?" Drew asked.

"Oh, he left already. Man he eats fast. When I got here, he already finished his lobster." Misty said as she gulped down her last sip of milk.

"I see…what? There's lobster today?" Dawn suddenly blurted out.

"Well, there was lobster, but I finished both of yours since you two were taking so long…ehehe…sowy." Misty licked her lips and smiled sheepishly.

"Why you…" Drew and Dawn growled.

"Now calm down my friends, let's just say that you donating your food to the hungry, like me."

Dawn sighed and sat down in the leather-dining seat. "First of all, we don't care about the hungry. If they're hungry, they should be joining Team Aqua. Secondly, you're no hungry Misty, you just ate three lobsters."

Drew glanced around and saw that there was a pot of oatmeal still lying around on the kitchen stove. "At least we still have some oatmeal to fill our stomachs."

"Tough luck, the boss just called, we have to go receive our mission now." A voice came from the doorway." Both Dawn and Drew groaned until they turned to see who it was.

"Paul! Where did you go?" Dawn asked.

"Non of your business troublesome." He replied coldly.

Before the two broke into a fight, Misty and Drew broke the two apart and started to the mission studio.

"Lemme go! I'm gonna give that jerk a piece of this." Dawn screamed as she kicked from Drew's grasp.

* * *

"Boss, we're here." Paul said with his usual expressionless voice.

"Hey there kids. How's my elite team going?" Crasher Wake said in his booming voice. "By the way, stop calling me boss, or else you're gonna get me fired."

"Naw we're still going to call you boss, boss." Drew smirked.

"Now now, we're here to assign you a mission, not act like little kids, am I right Drew?" He half heartedly glared at Drew but smiled right after. "Let's cut the small talk, your mission is to go to Team Rocket and spy there. You're going to their training facility, also known as their academy for young Rockets. From there, you will find out about their weapons and such so Team Aqua can take them down."

"Yes! We're going to Kanto!" Misty exclaimed.

Crasher Wake coughed and continued. "You're going to be assigned IDs but they will be in your real names. Don't worry, you usually do undercover work so your identities would be kept secret. But there's just one thing, we've gotten news that Team Magma has planted spies there too."

"Grr Team Magma. They always ruin everything." Dawn scowled.

"Now Dawn, that's why we have to stop them from whatever they're doing. And maybe you will find Kenny. My, he was a fine lad."

"Kenny? Isn't he dead?" Drew exclaimed.

"Kenny's not dead! He can't be!" Dawn said, obviously trying to hold back her tears. Kenny was her best friend. He disappeared a few weeks ago on a mission in Kanto. Many thought that he was dead but Dawn believed in him.

"There's still hope." Misty consoled. Paul grunted from her side.

"Now kids, I'll give you half an hour to pack before you have to leave. Chop chop." Their mentor finished. With that, the four left and went to their rooms respectively.

On her way back to her dorm, Misty walked extra slowly. She didn't really care about clothes so she had plenty of time. For the first time in eight years, she's leaving the underwater organization for a long time. It was 20 floors under the sea, just like she dreamed of when she was just a kid. Everyday, she would stare out the windows to look at all the water Pokemon swimming in the grand sea. But now, she's about to enrol in the Team Rocket Academy with her teammates, friends. It was exciting of course, but she felt that some things were going to change, for good.

* * *

_Meanwhile in Team Magma…_

Ash hummed to himself, playing catch with his pokeball with Pikachu. Ritchie, Barry and Melody strode into the room.

"Hey Ash, stop playing with your balls!" Melody said. She laughed. Barry laughed along stupidly, even though he didn't get the joke. Neither did Ritchie or Ash. Ash just smiled and asked, "It's fun though! You wanna play with me?"

Melody gave him a seductive smile, "Of course, Ash."

He threw the pokeball at her. Ritchie spoke up, "Guys, we have a new mission. May's already waiting in the lounge so hurry up!"

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder. He followed the rest of them outside. May, already dressed in her full Magma uniform, looked up as they approached. Blaine, their mentor, was also there.

"Hey, Elite Team members!" He nodded at them, his eyes hidden by sunglasses as usual, "You have a new mission. Team Rocket is gaining power very fast. You guys have to get in their Team Rocket Academy as undercover spies for Team Magma."

Ash grinned at Ritchie. If this mission was successful, it'll be one step closer to his dream of becoming Pokemon Master! Blaine gave them each a folder with information on Team Rocket and fake I.D.s. The Elite members ran back to their dorms when they got it, eager to start packing. Melody followed Ash into his dorm and gave him his pokeball.

Ash said, "You can keep it for a while. I was thinking we could play catch with our pokemon after packing."

Melody sighed, "No, it's fine. I don't wanna play with your pokeball." She shoved the ball at him and strode out with a flip of her glossy brown hair, her 8-inch heels clicking against the polished wood floor. Ash wondered why she flipped her hair so much. Maybe she had lice, but didn't want to make it too obvious by always scratching her scalp.

Ash got back to packing. Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and nosed him a bit anxiously. "Pika?" Of course his pikapi would take him. He WAS his favourite and oldest pokemon, after all. Pikachu wanted to know if he'll be able to see Zippo when they got there. He was Ritchie's newest Charizard, and Pikachu liked him a lot more than Ash's Charizard. The two pokemon had become good friends.

"You know, we might not see this place again for a long time." Ash said, mostly to himself. He decided to take a look around the Team Magma Headquarters one last time before leaving. It was a beautiful 24-story building set in the heart of a volcano. The outside walls were made from thick fire-proof glass, giving a great view of bubbling magma around the Headquarters. A giant steel and glass spiral staircase swept up from the centre of the first floor to the twenty-fifth, although it was rarely used. Most Magma Elite members used the elevators. Ash knew from experience that climbing a spiral staircase for more than 10 stories was incredibly dizzying.

The top eight stories were living quarters, with a garden on the 21st floor. His team had two dorms suites and shared the 19th floor with another team. The team wasn't there at the moment because they went on a mission to capture an old pokemon thought to be extinct. In fact, the entire Heaquarters seemed pretty empty now that half of the people were on missions. Soon, his team would be too. The walls were either made of frosted glass, steel or stone. Ash made his way to the 16th floor, which was entirely occupied by buffet tables where everyone usually ate their meals. Two huge gyms came after that, followed by training grounds that took up 3 levels.

There was another garden, then a conference room, mostly used by the Magma leader and his senior counsellors. "Pika?" Pikachu nosed Ash's arm. "You're right, I should go finish packing. We're leaving soon."

In the girls' dorm, Melody was throwing in all her miniskirts, tank tops, push-up bras, make up, stilettos, jewellery…(and the list goes on). May frowned, "Melody, Team Rocket Academy is in a cold cave."

"Well, they have to have air conditioning."

"You won't stay inside the building forever. Besides, you can't really wear 8-inch heels in training." May sighed, getting impatient, "You know that your suitcase is way overstuffed, right? You don't need a lifetime supply of miniskirts for a few months at tops at a boarding school. You'll be wearing a uniform most of the time."

Jigglypuff said,"Jiggly" in amusement and jumped onto Melody's shoulder. Melody dramatically flung herself onto her bed and started throwing the stuff out of her hot pink suitcase. A hot pink bra hit Barry in the face as he walked in. He looked a bit bewildered at all the clothes strewn around the ground, but didn't say anything about it.

"Hey, um, Melody, they have that strawberry-chocolate cheesecake you love today. Wanna go get some?" Barry's cheeks got redder with every word. He nervously twiddled with the edge of his shawl, then shoved his gloved hands into his black pants pockets. He was dressed in the Team Magma uniform: A red shawl with black ears on the hood, a black button-up T-shirt with a red and silver tie. He also wore his red training gloves and red boots. Melody had replaced the girls' version of the shawl, tie and blouse with a white tube top. She kept the short black skirt and red and silver belt. Her red boots were thrown into the corner behind the door with May's.

May jumped up, "Oh really? I love that cake! Bye!" She tore off towards the elevators. Melody rolled her eyes. May loved EVERYTHING related to food.

She replied, "Sorry, I'm having a packing crisis. Maybe later."

Barry looked crestfallen as he walked back to his room. Ash had come back. He and Ritchie were playing with their pokemon again. They looked up when he came in, wondering why he looked so sad.

"I went to ask Melody if she wants some cake…" Barry began. Ash and Ritchie pretended to listen to his rants for the next few minutes. The boys went to the buffet floor with a few of their pokemon as soon as they finished packing. May was still there, with two empty cheesecake plates in front of her. She waved sweetly at them and smiled through her mouthful of strawberry and chocolate sauce.

"Where's Melody?" Ritchie asked, "I was thinking we could discuss our plans in more detail and go over the Team Rocket information they gave us."

"Want me to go?" Ash suggested. The rest of his elite team nodded, so he went back up and got hit in the face with a hot pink thong.

"Ohmygod, sorry Ash!" Melody squealed. Her room was covered in girly lacy clothes. She shoved the last of the clothes she decided to pack into her overstuffed suitcase and forced the zipper closed.

Ash looked a bit confused, but replied, "Sure, no problem…You wanna come to the buffet floor? We're discussing our Rocket Academy plans."

Of course Melody wanted to. When they got back, everyone had already gotten their food. May was on her third cheesecake. Ritchie had gotten spaghetti, mashed potatoes and a roast chicken leg. Barry had udon noodles and May was still eating cheesecake. Ash decided on pizza, mac and cheese, dumplings, the rest of Barry's roast chicken, vegetable soup, ice cream and a blueberry swirl cheesecake. Melody just got salad with a beef skewer and a microscopic slice of cheesecake. The team had long ago gotten used to each other's eating habits.

"We're going the day after tomorrow. Everyone done packing?" Ritchie sounded like the leader he was. His team nodded. He continued, "We have to decide on which pokemon to bring. We can't take all of them because we'll be getting new ones there."

The pokemon perched on their table all swivelled their heads towards their trainers. Pikachu confidently nuzzled Ash's shoulder. Of course Ash would never leave the cheeky little rat behind. Ritchie waved a dismissive arm at the pokemon there. He didn't want their cuteness to interfere with their decisions.

Ritchie, being the leader, said, "We should bring 3 pokemon each. Our favourite and the two most powerful ones. We'll get some new pokemon at the Team Rocket Academy."

Ash nodded in agreement, "We're also going to go shopping tomorrow at the mall near here for stuff. You know, food, pokemon equipment, clothes, and, um, food…"

* * *

30 minutes into their shopping trip, the guys were sitting at the food court. The girls had ran off to do actual clothes shopping a long time ago.

"Guys, we should buy some something. We hardly ever go to the mall…"Barry suggested.

Ash sighed, "You're right. I should buy a new pokeball before I have a chance to blow all the money on food again." Ash was still using the same beginners' pokeball he started out with when he was 10. It had a big dent in one side, a lot of scratch marks and lacked many of the more advanced functions all the other Magma Elite members had.

Ritchie rolled his eyes, "You mean you still didn't get a new one?"

Ash blushed, "I used up all my money on food."

"You'll never be a Pokemon Master if you get sidetracked every time there's food within a 10 kilometer radius."

Ash just shrugged. He dumped the rest of his food into his mouth and set off to find a pokeball. Barry and Ritchie decided to wait at the food court. After all, they weren't the ones who needed a new pokeball.

Ash came back 15 minutes later with a huge lumpy bag from the Sweet Factory. Ritchie shook his head and asked, "How much money do you have left?"

"Enough for a pokeball, I hope."

"I'm going with you."

Ash, Barry and Ritchie made their way to a pokemon store. He didn't have enough money for the newest edition that all his other teammate had, and had to settle for a last season's discounted one. Still, much better than his old one. They also decided to buy some other pokemon equipment and clothes. Team Rocket Academy was a prestigious private school, so they needed to look rich.

"Hey, maybe we should dye our hair." Barry peered at a barber shop, "It'll make a better disguise."

Ritchie pulled him along, "We don't really need a disguise. Our team isn't important enough for them to recognize us, remember? This is one of the few times I wish Melody was with us. I have no idea what clothes we should buy."

"I know!" Barry piped up, "I notice some of the brands Melody wears. We can see if there's any in this mall."

If Ash and Ritchie were anyone else, they might've noticed Barry had a crush on Melody. It was that obvious. Even if they didn't, they might've assumed he was gay because he knew so much about clothes. But no, this is Ash we're talking about, the one who won't notice a girl (Melody) has a crush on him even when she asks him if he wants to play while lying on a bed wearing a bikini. He'll just think that she means Monopoly or some other board game (Yes, that really happened).

* * *

Early morning the next day, the boys waited in the rooftop lobby with their suitcases, wearing outfits Melody had picked out for them. The girls were still in their room, doing something or other. Ritchie drummed his fingers on the glass table impatiently, "We're leaving in seven minutes and they're still not here!"

As he said it, May and Melody came running from the elevator. Barry nearly choked. Melody had bleached her hair to a white-blond and put in pink and silver streaks (Similar to Avril Lavigne, but whiter). She wore a black T-shirt, a pale blue denim skirt and black boots, with the fuzzy team Magma socks peeking out on top. A long red trenchcoat-ish jacket was draped across her arms. The team members usually wore their uniforms, and even Ash and Ritchie had to admit that she looked hot. Although the hair was rather creepy. May had gone with strawberry blond high-lights. She had tied a bandanna around her head as usual, but it was pink instead of her usual red or green. She wore grey skinny jeans, black converses and a pink cardigan and was eating her sixth cookie of the day.

The teammates smiled at each other, then grabbed their suitcases and walked down the volcano towards the train station. Ash took one last look at the volcano that was slowly disappearing from view. It had been his home for years, and now he wouldn't see it again for months, years even. But Ash was with his friends. They were going on their most important mission so far. Pikachu nudged his cheek, and Ash smiled at the familiar gesture. Pikachu would be with him too. A new chapter of his life was starting, another important step in his goal of being Pokemon Master.

* * *

I appreciate the ones who are reading this. You see, my partner, FrostyShadows isn't a big fan of Pokemon (gasp). She doesn't understand that much about it either. I practically forced her into writing this with me, so I should really thank her for it. The first chapter was more of a prologue, which means that chapters will be pretty long, hopefully. I'm still not revealing the shippings because I am evil (mwahaha), but by reading my other stories, you would be able to guess. We won't make this fic cliché, even though it's set in some sort of school setting. Anyways, thanks to everyone who has been reading my stories.

I'm leaving for China tomorrow, so don't expect any updates for like 2 months. Sorry, but have a great summer.

~Hoppip


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